2008 Election Study


age. Derived from V083215x.
gender. Derived from V081101.

marital. Summary of Marital status. Derived from V083216x.
-----------
1. Married
2. Divorced
3. Separated
4. Widowed
5. Never married
6. Partnered, not married {VOL}


partyid. "Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a 
[DEMOCRAT, a REPUBLICAN / a REPUBLICAN, a DEMOCRAT], an 
INDEPENDENT, or what?" Derived from V083097.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Democrat
2. Republican
3. Independent
4. Other party (SPECIFY)
5. No preference {VOL}

race. Derived from V081102.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. White
2. Black/African-American
4. Other race

*"White and black" was an option but zero respondents chose it. Additionally, I coded mixed-race answers as NA because the mixes of race were unspecified and therefore too
ambiguous to be very useful.


education. "What is the highest degree that you have earned?" Derived from V083218b
1. Bachelor's degree
2. Master's degree
3. PhD, LIT, SCD, DFA, DLIT, DPH, DPHIL, JSC, SJD
4. LLB, JD
5. MD, DDS, DVM, MVSA, DSC, DO
6. JDC, STD, THD
7. Associate degree (AA)
0. No degree earned

education2. Summary of Educational Attainment. Derived from V083218x.
-------------------------------------------------------------
0. DK/RF grades - no HS diploma [-8,-9 in Y3 and 5 in Y3a]
1. 0-8 grades - no HS diploma/equivalency [0-8 in Y3 and 5 in Y3a]
2. 9-12 grades - no diploma/equivalency [9-12 in Y3 and 5 in Y3a]
3. 0-12 grades - HS diploma/equivalency [0-12 in Y3 and 1 in Y3a]
4. 13+ grades, no degree [0 in Y3b]
5. Junior or community college level degrees (AA degrees) [7 in Y3b]
6. BA level degrees [6 in Y3b] or 17+ grades with no advanced degree
   [17 in Y3 and 0 in Y3b]
7. Advanced degree (including LLB) [2-6 in Y3b]

Feeling thermometers

cfundamentals. "CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS". Derived from V085064b.
feminists. "FEMINISTS". Derived from V085064d.
fedgov. "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON". Derived from V085064e.
midclass. "MIDDLE CLASS PEOPLE". Derived from V085064h.
military. "The Military". Derived from V085064m.
bigbiz. "BIG BUSINESS". Derived from V085064n.
welfareppl. "PEOPLE ON WELFARE". Derived from V085064p.
workclass. "WORKING CLASS PEOPLE". Derived from V085064r.
environmentalists. "ENVIRONMENTALISTS". Derived from V085064s.
gays. "GAY MEN AND LESBIANS (HOMOSEXUALS)". Derived from V085064u.
asians. "ASIAN-AMERICANS". Derived from V085064v.
blacks. "BLACKS". Derived from V085064y.
southerners. "SOUTHERNERS". Derived from V085064z.
undocumented. "ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS". Derived from V085065a.
poorppl. "POOR PEOPLE". Derived from V085064k.
richppl. "RICH PEOPLE". Derived from V085065b.
whiteppl. "WHITE PEOPLE". Derived from V085065c.
muslims. "MUSLIMS". Derived from V085065e.
christians. "CHRISTIANS". Derived from V085065g.
atheists. "ATHEISTS". Derived from V085065h. 
demparty. Democratic Party. Derived from V083044a.
republicanparty. Republican Party. Derived from V083044b.


dempartylike. "Is there anything in particular that you LIKE about the 
Democratic party?" Derived from V083045.
------------------------------------------------
1.Yes
5.No

repubpartylike. "Is there anything in particular that you LIKE about the 
Republican party?" Derived from V083049.
------------------------------------------------
1.Yes
5.No

likenoparty. Answers no to both "partylike" questions above.

stocks. "Do you personally, or jointly with a spouse, have any MONEY 
INVESTED IN THE STOCK MARKET right now -- either in an 
individual stock or in a mutual fund?" Derived from V083059.
--------------------------
1. Yes
5. No

interest. "Interest in Politics and Elections". Derived from V085072.
Some people seem to follow what's going on in government
and public affairs most of the time, whether there's an
election going on or not. Others aren't that interested.
Would you say you follow what's going on in government
and public affairs MOST OF THE TIME, SOME OF THE TIME,
ONLY NOW AND THEN, or HARDLY AT ALL?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Most of the time
2. Some of the time
3. Only now and then
4. Hardly at all

voted2004. "Did R vote for President in 2004". Derived from V083007.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Yes, voted
5. No, didn't vote

internet. "Does R have access to the internet". Derived from V083018.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Yes
5. No

tvnewsdays. "How many days in the PAST WEEK did you watch the NATIONAL network 
news on TV?" Derived from V083019.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
0. None
1. One day
2. Two days
3. Three days
4. Four days
5. Five days
6. Six days
7. Seven days

tvnewsattention. "How much attention do you pay to news on NATIONAL news shows 
about the campaign for President -- A GREAT DEAL, QUITE A BIT, 
SOME, VERY LITTLE, or NONE?" Derived from V083019a.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. A great deal
2. Quite a bit
3. Some
4. Very little
5. None

righttrack. "Do you feel things in this country are generally going in the 
RIGHT DIRECTION, or do you feel things have pretty seriously 
gotten off on the WRONG TRACK?" Derived from V083027.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Right direction
5. Wrong track

religactive. "Aside from attending services, in the PAST SIX MONTHS 
have you been an active member at your place of worship -- 
I mean, have you done things like serve on committees, 
give time for special projects, or help organize meetings?" Derived from V085130.
--------------------------------------------
1. Yes
5. No


religgroup. Summary Major religion group. Derived from V083185b
------------------------------
0. No religious identification; none (5 in X3)  [50]
1. Christian, Protestant  [01-16]
2. Christian, Catholic  [18]
3. Christian, Orthodox  [19]
4. Jewish  [21]
7. Other  [17,20,22-25,26,30]
8. Atheist or Agnostic (volunteered in X4)  [41-42]

religimportant. "Do you consider religion to be an IMPORTANT part of your life, 
or NOT?" Derived from V083181.
-------------------------------
1. Important
5. Not important

religattend. "Do you go to religious services EVERY WEEK, ALMOST EVERY WEEK, 
ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH, A FEW TIMES A YEAR, or NEVER?" Derived from V083186a.
----------------------------
1. Every week
2. Almost every week
3. Once or twice a month
4. A few times a year
5. Never

satisfied. "On the whole, are you VERY satisfied, FAIRLY satisfied, 
NOT VERY satisfied, or NOT AT ALL satisfied with the way 
democracy works in the United States?" Derived from V085194.
-----------------------------
1. Very satisfied
2. Fairly satisfied
3. Not very satisfied
4. Not satisfied at all

votingdiff. "Some people say that no matter who people vote for, IT WON'T  
MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE to what happens. Others say that who  
people vote for CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE to what happens. 
Using the scale in the booklet, (where ONE means that 
voting won't make any difference to what happens and FIVE 
means that  voting can make a big difference), where would 
you place  yourself?" Derived from V085183.
--------------------------
1. Voting won't make any difference
2.
3.
4.
5. Voting can make a big difference

voted2008. Summary voter turnout for 2008. Derived from V085036x.
----------------------------
0. Did not vote in November 2008
1. Voted in November 2008

partyrep. "Would you say that any of the parties in the United States 
represent your views reasonably well?" Derived from V085185.
----------------------------
1. Yes
5. No